Chapter 27
EMME
According to Talon, the compound was so isolated that if we’d used the jet to get there, we would still have had to drive for a few hours anyway.
Hence the decision to road trip across the state and into Idaho.
A decision I was more than happy about, as it was my first real chance to test out the Panigale. The power and handling… oh my goddess.
The bike was everything I’d hoped it would be and more.
All expectations had been met and exceeded, and it was exciting to know we still had plenty of hours left to our destination.
“You need to eat, Shortcake,” Kellan said as he exited the gas station, hands full of snacks. I rescued a few that appeared to be teetering on the edge of falling. “You can’t eat while you’re riding, so now’s your chance.”
Hunter had gassed up my bike while I used the restroom—Slade had checked them before allowing me inside of course. Now Kellan was handing me food, while Finley had drinks.
For weeks now these alphas had been caring and catering to me, without ever expecting a single thing in return. I was possibly the most spoiled shifter in history, and it felt overwhelming in the best ways.
“Slade and Hunter need to eat now too,” I said, offloading some of the sandwiches and snacks their way. Or trying to, since neither of them would take them.
Kellan hooted as he whisked me over to sit in the front seat of the Bentley, the others following us.
More than a few humans glanced our way, wearing expressions that were a mix of awe and fear.
They probably wondered if this group of huge and scarily lethal males had kidnapped me.
I hoped my smile accurately represented that I was exactly where I wanted to be.
“Eat up, Emme,” Kellan said, nudging the snacks in my lap. “I have no idea what most of this is, but these were what the attendant recommended.”
All of them looked confused, as if they’d never seen a Twinkie, Snickers bar, or pack of Skittles before. Come to think of it, the only junk we’d had in our house was either shifter specific, or homemade. I couldn’t wait to see these alphas racing through the streets hyped up on fake sugar.
Constantine, who remained off to the side watching the five of us closely, caught my attention.
“You’ve never been around a properly bonded pack before, have you?” I asked him, assuming that was what drew so much of his curiosity.
His smile was brief. “No. My parents weren’t in a pack, and I’ve all but been a nomad since they died. I hoped to find a family with your mother, but once she got pregnant I knew I couldn’t stay. It was a brief dream.”
My nose wrinkled at the thought of anyone ever wanting to be in a pack with my mother.
“Why would you want her? She was the most narcissistic bitch I’ve ever met.
Excluding Jewels of course. She cared about no one but herself and treated me like I was an annoyance at best and a curse she needed to be rid of at worst. You know she told me you wanted her to tear me from her womb. It was her favorite bedtime story.”
My father’s only reaction was to release the faintest of sighs.
“She knew I wanted you more than life, but when I left her… It was the first step of breaking her. Then whatever that pack did… whatever they stole from her essence changed her fundamentally. I saw her the day you were born, when I warned her to keep moving to hide your hybrid nature. She was happy on that day, and very much cherished being a mother.”
I’d never known her to be happy or caring, but after experiencing true love with my mates, I understood how losing that could break a shifter. Followed by what Fletcher and Blaine’s pack put her through. It wasn’t that I excused her actions, but I did at least understand them better.
“I still can’t comprehend how you could have left your child,” Finley grumbled, his stare hard and cold.
“If you kept tabs on Emme as you say you did, then you knew how they treated her. You must have seen she was at risk. It’s pure luck that the Rogers pack didn’t forcibly bond Emme and steal her essence, same as they did with her mother. ”
My wolf howled and moved closer to the bear. Finley was triggered by parental abuse, but while he was clearly upset, he wasn’t losing it. Therapy and bonding continued to help him manage his darker emotions.
“I would have stepped in had Emme been in real danger,” Constantine said shortly. “I’d never have let them truly hurt her. I spelled the damn mechanic’s workshop so she’d be safe there. I did keep an eye on her, and when Morgan died, I ensured she could go free.”
The mechanic’s workshop. It had been the only place I’d felt safe for years. “You did keep me hidden in the human world. My getting caught was just a series of unfortunate events.”
Constantine swallowed roughly, rubbing at his temples as if this conversation pained him. “It’s clear that the goddess decided it was time for you to fulfill your destiny. Not even I have the power to take her on.”
Hunter shifted forward. “You’d have kept her from us, wouldn’t you? If the goddess never stepped in?” His expression wasn’t as hard as Finley’s, and through our bond I picked up tendrils of understanding and empathy from the entitled alpha.
“If it meant that Emme was never vilified or hurt by the packs or witches, I’d have kept her hidden forever.” There was no hesitation in Constantine’s statement. “Our kind has many enemies, and I hadn’t even really known about Fletcher and Jewels at the time.”
Clearly, once my mother told Fletcher about my hybrid nature, I became very important to his plans. All of which Constantine saved me from.
“I owe you my thanks,” I said suddenly, and he startled like I’d slapped him. “Fletcher would have destroyed me in his quest for more power, but you kept me safe for years. Even in your absence, you were a far better parent than Morgan.”
His cheeks pinkened, and he opened and closed his mouth a few times, before shaking his head. Giving him a second to pull himself together, I focused on unwrapping a sandwich and eating quickly, while the alphas chatted softly.
“Whatever Jewels has planned after the curse can mean nothing good for the shifter world,” Hunter said to Slade, rubbing a hand over his jaw.
Slade nodded. “Nothing good. She’s waited a long time for this to come to fruition, and if it’s set to control all of us, it’s a heavy curse.”
This jolted Constantine back into the conversation. “It’s one of the most powerful of magics,” he confirmed.
“How did you even find out about it?” Kellan asked him, still examining a Snickers bar.
“Everyone with active magic felt her draw on the power to cast the spell. There’s no witch who wouldn’t have felt that.”
Except for me apparently. “I didn’t feel anything,” I said, taking a bite of the chicken and mayo. “The only time I ever felt magic before the full quintet bond were those faint tingles in my hands.”
“Your magic was locked away,” he reminded me. “You probably did feel it, but it would have registered as a weird flip in your gut.”
I had a sudden thought: Do you think magic was how I blasted you across the room? I asked Talon, who remained high in the skies above.
The dragon’s reply was immediate. Yeah, I already had an idea you might have magic in your blood with how excited Fletcher was to claim you. But I expected it to be more like dragons. Not witches.
Yeah, that makes sense. I wish it was more like that.
There was a caress of his dragon against my wolf, and then he withdrew to continue his sky patrol.
I didn’t bother to tell Constantine I’d briefly accessed my magic in a moment of pure survival; it was really a moot point now that the full bond had shattered all locks on my magic.
The alphas encouraged me to finish up my snacks, and they wolfed down whatever was left, before we hit the road once more, this time with more focus on getting there as quickly as possible.
Out front, Kellan pushed the Bentley to its maximum capacity, and we all needed to take a moment to give thanks for the power of a W12 engine. When we closed in on the compound, Talon directed us down isolated, rougher roads, which we were forced to slow along.
It’s very remote, he confirmed when my wolf backed up for easier quintet conversation. But there are no immediate dangers. I’ve already scouted ahead, and it’s as deserted as it was yesterday.
The chain-link and wire fence came into view first, spanning high into the air. There was nothing welcoming about this compound, and I shivered as Talon directed us toward the front gate, which had been blasted open.
We drove down a short dirt path to reach the dwellings, with the main building made up of gray walls and squat shapes.
When I pulled my bike to a stop, Talon landed beside me.
I swung myself off the bike, my aching legs briefly faltering, but he was there.
I wrapped my arms around his snout, which allowed me to give him a hug as well, before pressing a kiss to the side of his nose.
Talon’s massive chest rumbled. “You’re so gorgeous and scary,” I cooed at the beast, and there was another satisfied vibration from him. “Thank you for leading us here.”
The dry heat of his scales left me nicely warmed, and I jumped at the rough scrape of his tongue over my cheek. “Whoa, that texture will take some getting used to.”
After the dragon released a rasping gurgle that must be its version of a laugh, there was a pull of power, and I had a naked human Talon in front of me.
His tongue swiped over the same spot his beast had, and my core clenched.
“Naughty dragon,” I murmured, shaking off the thrall he had me under. “No time for that.”
Talon smirked, entirely unrepentant. Slade handed him a pile of clothes, and he dressed quickly, sliding on combat boots to finish his badass, SWAT look.
“Come on, let’s get this shit over with,” Kellan said, eyeing the side of the industrial building which looked like it was designed to withstand the strongest of attacks.
Not wanting any distractions, I nudged my beast back in to block the connection. Our energies meshing wasn’t anywhere near as overwhelming as it had been the first time, but with all of us still getting used to it, I wouldn’t take any chances in dangerous situations.
Talon led us to a side entrance, and we entered a large kitchen, which bore a slightly musty smell. It hadn’t really been long enough for decaying food, unless Fletcher had been away from here longer than just the days since the street battle.
It took us twenty minutes to check every room on the massive main level, finding no shifters or evidence that could be used. All that remained was a multitude of bedding on the floor, none of which held any personal essence, as it was clearly used like a drop-in zone for Fletcher’s army.
The door that led down into the sublevels was thick and reinforced, with steel layered so not even shifter strength could easily bust through. It took two partially shifted dragons multiple attempts to break it down.
“They’re rather useful, these twins,” Kellan noted, and he wasn’t the only one who looked impressed.
As we descended into the lower levels, my stomach churned, and I had to clasp my hands together to keep from picking the edges of my nails off. If I made myself bleed, the alphas would lose their shit and now was not the time.
Talon was first into the creepy basement, with Slade right behind him.
I ended up in the center of the group, with Constantine in front of me.
Weirdly, his scent was soothing for the first time.
There was a note of comfort and familiarity in the citrus tones, as if he was finally a shifter I trusted.
When we exited the stairs, it was nothing like the creepy, dank interior I expected.
We stepped into what looked like a laboratory or research facility, all white and sterile.
But whatever comforting scents were around me faded under the stench of this area.
I barely managed to hold in a gasp, and covering my nose did little to dull what had to be a dead body or five.
On silent feet, we pushed farther inside, the whole scene eerie as the fluorescent lights above flickered on and off. We moved past rows of stainless-steel tables, some of which were covered in scientific equipment, before reaching a series of cages lining the far wall.
Cages that weren’t empty, though there was nothing alive in any of them.
Which explained the smell.
Hunter blocked me so I couldn’t stare upon the death, but the scents suggested there were varying levels of decomposition here. Many of these prisoners had died while Fletcher was very much still alive. That sick fuck had left them in with the other prisoners, decaying right in front of them.
“Evil piece of shit,” Hunter growled, and even with my wolf blocking it, waves of his rage simmered in the bond. He prowled along the cages, double-checking there was no one alive.
When he paused halfway along, his stare unnatural and pointed, I called out. “Is there someone alive?”
His throat moved as he swallowed, before he shook his head. “No, but when this shifter was… I called her Mom.”
The sense of horror and dread flooded me so suddenly that I almost threw up. My stomach was already weak from the death-scents, and just hearing him utter those words…
“Hunter,” I choked out, attempting to get to him, only to find Slade blocking my path.
“Give him a moment,” he murmured, and I swallowed around the lump in my throat.
Hunter didn’t linger, already returning to us, his expression neutral. “She was a shit mother,” he said, hard features softening as he met my stricken gaze. “Fletcher clearly thought she was a shit wife too, since she ended up in there. Either way, they both got what they deserved.”
Toneless or not, his wolf flashed in his gaze, but before I could offer comfort, there was a shuffling on the tiles behind us. My pack spun and fell into protective stances around me, obstructing me from even seeing who was out there.
Popping up on my toes, I caught sight of an emaciated shifter as she stumbled around the corner. One I recognized immediately. “Chelsea,” I gasped, taking in the changes. There was no weight on her skeletal structure, and she’d aged twenty years since I saw her last.
When Slade’s dragon rage filled the room in a roar, the air crackling with heat and intensity, she glanced briefly between us before her eyes rolled back in her head and she fainted.